Microsoft Powerpoint and PDFs for Print

Mac Instructions (Office 2008 and Office 2011)

Start by making sure you've got a "poster-sized" poster:

1. Open your poster in Powerpoint, and go to
File menu > Page Setup.

2. If the dimensions are 10" x 7.5", you haven't set the size of the poster yet. If you have previously entered your dimensions, skip to
Save your finished poster as a PDF (below). Otherwise, enter the dimensions you'd like the poster to be. At least one dimension must be 41" or less.

--> If you HAVEN'T created your poster yet, simply type in the size you want, and click OK.
--> If you HAVE created your poster, you'll need to do a little math before clicking OK: To keep your poster proportioned the way you have it set up means that you need to scale it up using the same proportions, for example: 200% = 20" x 15", 300%= 30"x 22.5", etc

3. When you click ok, you may get a message that gives you three choices: cancel, ok, or fix.
CLICK OK, not fix.

4. Type in the height of your poster in the "width" box, and the width of you poster in the "height" box. (Yes, this is messed up intentionally.)

5. In the
Non-Printable Area boxes (left, right, top, bottom) type in "0" for each box.

6. Click OK, then OK, then OK.

7. Go to
File menu > Print.

8. In the lower left hand corner of the print screen, click
PDF, then select
Save as PDF. (ENTER YOUR FULL NAME IN THE FILE NAME please.) Once you have saved the PDF, open the PDF and make sure it looks ok.

Windows Instructions (Office 2010)

Make sure you've got a "poster-sized" poster:

1. Open your poster in Powerpoint, and locate the
Design Menu ribbon at the top of the screen. Locate
Page Setup.

2. If the dimensions are 10" x 7.5", you haven't set the size of the poster yet. If you have previously entered your dimensions, skip to
Save your finished poster as a PDF (below). Otherwise, enter the dimensions you'd like the poster to be. At least one dimension must be 41" or less.

--> If you HAVEN'T created your poster yet, simply type in the size you want, and click OK.
--> If you HAVE created your poster, you'll need to do a little math before clicking OK: To keep your poster proportioned the way you have it set up means that you need to scale it up using the same proportions, for example: 200% = 20" x 15", 300%= 30"x 22.5", etc.

Save your finished poster as a PDF:

1. In the
Design Menu ribbon, locate
Page Setup. Make a note of the width and height of your poster.

2. Navigate to
File > Print.

3. Select "CutePDF Writer" from the
Name drop-down menu. Don't see "CutePDF"? Answer this question: Are you doing this on your computer or a Whitman computer (in a lab, the library, etc)? If you're doing this on your computer, you'll need to
download and install CutePDF Writer BEFORE you proceed with the following instructions. CutePDF Writer is free software.

7. Type in the height of your poster in the "width" box, and the width of you poster in the "height" box. (Yes, this is messed up intentionally.)

8. Click OK on the next four screens.

9. Enter a name for your PDF (INCLUDE YOUR FULL NAME IN THE FILE NAME, please.) Once you have saved the PDF, open the PDF and make sure it looks ok.

Windows Instructions (Office 2007)

Make sure you've got a "poster-sized" poster:

1. Open your poster in Powerpoint, and go to Menu toolbar, then to go to
File menu > Page Setup.

2. If the dimensions are 10" x 7.5", you haven't set the size of the poster yet. If you have previously entered your dimensions, skip to
Save your finished poster as a PDF (below). Otherwise, enter the dimensions you'd like the poster to be. At least one dimension must be 41" or less.

--> If you HAVEN'T created your poster yet, simply type in the size you want, and click OK.
--> If you HAVE created your poster, you'll need to do a little math before clicking OK: To keep your poster proportioned the way you have it set up means that you need to scale it up using the same proportions, for example: 200% = 20" x 15", 300%= 30"x 22.5", etc.

Save your finished poster as a PDF:

1. In the Menu toolbar, go to the
File menu > Page Setup. Make a note of the width and height of your poster, and click OK.

2. Go to
File menu > Print.

3. Select "CutePDF Writer" from the
Name drop-down menu. Don't see "CutePDF"? Answer this question: Are you doing this on your computer or a Whitman computer (in a lab, the library, etc)? If you're doing this on your computer, you'll need to
download and install CutePDF Writer BEFORE you proceed with the following instructions. CutePDF Writer is free software.

7. Type in the height of your poster in the "width" box, and the width of you poster in the "height" box. (Yes, this is messed up intentionally.)

8. Click OK on the next four screens.

9. Enter a name for your PDF (INCLUDE YOUR FULL NAME IN THE FILE NAME, please). Once you have saved the PDF, open the PDF and make sure it looks ok.

Windows Instructions (Office 2003)

Make sure you've got a "poster-sized" poster:

1. Open your poster in Powerpoint, and go to File menu > Page Setup.

2. If the dimensions are 10" x 7.5", you haven't set the size of the poster yet. If you have previously entered your dimensions, skip to
Save your finished poster as a PDF (below). Otherwise, enter the dimensions you'd like the poster to be. At least one dimension must be 41" or less.

--> If you HAVEN'T created your poster yet, simply type in the size you want, and click OK.
--> If you HAVE created your poster, you'll need to do a little math before clicking OK: To keep your poster proportioned the way you have it set up means that you need to scale it up using the same proportions, for example: 200% = 20" x 15", 300%= 30"x 22.5", etc.

Save your finished poster as a PDF:

1. Go to
File menu > Page Setup. Make a note of the width and height of your poster, and click OK.

2. Go to
File menu > Print.

3. Select "CutePDF Writer" from the
Name drop-down menu. Don't see "CutePDF"? Answer this question: Are you doing this on your computer or a Whitman computer (in a lab, the library, etc)? If you're doing this on your computer, you'll need to
download and install CutePDF Writer BEFORE you proceed with the following instructions. CutePDF Writer is free software.